The present invention generally relates to the field of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of computer aided systems for computer users with dyslexia, reading disabilities, or visual impairment.
Development in software technology has allowed computers to perform a wide variety of useful operations. Depending on the software which is installed within their particular memory storage devices, computers can be used to manage numerous financial transactions of a bank, control the fabrication of items ranging from automobiles down to integrated circuit chips, store addresses and telephone numbers of acquaintances, analyze scientific and engineering data, produce and edit documents, along with transmitting and receiving data.
The World Wide Web (also called the xe2x80x9cWebxe2x80x9d) has also been made possible by recent advances in hardware and software technology. By way of background, the World Wide Web is an internet facility that links documents locally and remotely. A Web document is called a Web page, and hyper-links in the page allow users to xe2x80x9cjumpxe2x80x9d from page to page whether the pages are stored on the same server or on other servers around the world. Since its genesis in the late 1980""s, the Web has become extremely popular. Millions and millions of Web pages are now available on the Web, and millions of people access those Web pages daily. One of the primary reasons for the Web""s success is that, Web pages, containing both text and graphics, are probably the largest collection of on-line information known to humankind. And, that vast amount of information is easily accessible via a Web browser such as Netscape(copyright) Navigator(trademark) or Microsoft(copyright) Internet Explorer(trademark).
However, not everyone is able to realize the full potential of computer systems or the World Wide Web. For instance, a person with certain reading or comprehension dysfunctions, e.g. dyslexia, may find producing and editing a document on a computer difficult because he/she may not be able to comprehend information that is presented only in the form of text. Moreover, for those who suffer from visual impairments like acute myopia, surfing the World Wide Web and comprehending information therefrom can also present a significant challenge. First of all, Web pages contain mainly text data. Even search engines, such as Excite, Lycos, or AltaVista, which are indispensable when searching for specific information on the Web, are text-based. Secondly, the font sizes and colors of the Web pages are usually predetermined by the owners of the Web pages. Therefore, a person suffering from a reading disability may have difficulty understanding those Web pages or a person suffering from visibility problems may have problems viewing those Web pages. Thus, most people who suffer from dyslexia, other reading disabilities or visual impairments can become discouraged from using computer systems and the World Wide Web for these reasons.
Furthermore, a number of other non-Web based software exists that routinely presents textual information to users, e.g. word processor, multimedia applications, electronic spread sheets, etc. Persons with reading or comprehension dysfunctions can also become discouraged from using these software. It would be desirable to provide a system that increases the ease of use of these word processor and multimedia applications. Additionally, as computers become more and more popular in the home and in classrooms, small children are becoming more accustomed to using computer systems and computer programs. It would also be desirable to provide a system that increases the viewing enjoyment and comprehension of the children with respect to the text-based information of a computer program.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of and apparatus for providing text assistance to computer users who are dyslexic, have other reading disabilities or are visually impaired. What is further needed is a method of and apparatus for presenting text-based information to dyslexic, reading disabled or visually impaired computer users during text-editing or Web-browsing. What is yet further needed is a method of and an apparatus for communicating text-based information to computer users, especially younger users, in an easily comprehensible manner that is entertaining.
The present invention provides for a method of assisting computer users in comprehending and understanding text-based information by simultaneously reinforcing the information via multiple media channels. Particularly, the method of the present invention is implemented in a computer system or embodied in a computer-usable medium in the form of a computer program, and includes the steps of: accessing a source of text-based data, displaying text-based data in a text window with a standard font and size, and/or displaying a portion of the text-based data in another text window with a magnified font and size, sequentially highlighting the text-based data in one or both text windows one word at a time; and generating synthesized speech signals representative of the highlighted word and rendering the synthesized speech signals audible synchronously with the displaying of the highlighted text such that text-based information and corresponding audible information can be perceived simultaneously by the user. The present invention is particularly useful for displaying text-based information to users having reading disabilities such as dyslexia as the simultaneous reinforcement of the audio and visual information renders the text-based data easily comprehensible. The present invention may also be used for assisting users with visual impairments in document editing and retrieving information from the World Wide Web. The present invention can yet be employed to increase the comprehension of and entertainment value of text-based information as displayed to computer users, especially young computer users.
In furtherance of one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes the steps of: providing a third window for displaying graphic images, and displaying an image depicting the text-based data synchronously with the displaying and highlighting of the text-based data. In this embodiment, a configuration file is used to store a list of keywords or key phrases and the names of the images associated with the keywords or key phrases and to be displayed when the keywords or key phrases are encountered. In another embodiment, an animated sequence depicting the text-based data is displayed synchronously with the displaying and highlighting of the text-based data. In yet another embodiment, audio or sound effects depicting the text-based data are audibly generated synchronously with the displaying and highlighting of the text-based data.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, characteristics of synthesized speech signals are context-sensitive. In one embodiment, in conjunction with the displaying of text-based data, the characteristics of synthesized speech, such as pitch, inflection, volume, tone, and speed, vary according to the context of the text-based data that is being electronically enunciated. In this way, the present invention is capable of conveying the emotional content of the text-based data that is being displayed and read aloud to the user. It is appreciated that the text based voice synthesis and imagery as described above can be made word or phrase sensitive.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises the step of providing a control interface for allowing the user to customize parameters of the present invention, such as the size of the font, the color of the highlighting, the volume, tone, speed, etc., of the synthesized speech, etc. In addition, the control interface may allow the user to change the method of highlighting to underlining or bold-facing to suit the user""s personal taste and preference.
Embodiments of the present invention include the above and further include a method of displaying information to a user comprising the computer implemented steps of: accessing a source of text-based data, displaying a portion of the text-based data in a text window displayed on a display screen of the computer system, sequentially marking a section of the text-based data one section at a time; and synchronous with the step of marking, displaying an imagery representative of the marked section of text-based data in another window on the display screen, generating synthesized speech signals representative of the marked section of text-based data, rendering the speech signals audible, and rendering audio information or sound effects audible so that text-based information, graphics information and audible verbal and sound effects information are delivered to the user simultaneously.